Accreditation of Custom-Build course Internationally »

Since 2001 a number of developments in UK higher education have encouraged the Assessment Agencies to begin a revision of Qualification standard and to review the structure of the sections and to replace the original ‘precepts and guidance’ structure with a “precepts and explanation” approach.The higher education community has identified as important for the assurance of academic quality and standards and which individual institutions are able to demonstrate they are addressing effectively through their own management and organisational processes. The accompanying explanations are provided to help institutions to understand why the precepts are important. How an institution chooses to address the precepts is for itself to determine, in the light of its own needs, traditions, culture, and decision-making processes. In the UK's system of higher education, institutions are responsible for the quality of the education they provide and the academic standards of the awards they offer. The education providers’ main principal in maintaining nationally comparable standards within autonomous higher education institutions and the external examiner being one of a number of independent and impartial advisers used by them. Enhancing academic standards will vary, depending on individual mission, size, curriculum structures and other factors. This will use external examiners to help them monitor the academic standards of all their awards, except those granted on an honorary basis. External examiners act as independent and impartial advisers providing institutions with informed comment on the standards set, and the candidate’s achievement in relation to those standards. External examining is therefore an integral and essential part of institutional quality assurance. It is the responsibility of each institution to establish criteria and guidance for external examining that enable its academic standards to be benchmarked and maintained.